Rebirth
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: AU. For the TAF: Challenge Edition thing. "It's not time for you to exit the stage yet..." When Mewtwo is critically injured, a group of mysterious people take him in and give him a new body. Dealing with the loss of many of his fellow Smashers and the gain of this body that never originally belonged to him, he must learn to survive the new, post-apoctalyptic world.
1. End of the Act

**Author note: I do NOT own Super Smash bros. Or Mewtwo or any of the Smashers. I only own my OCs and the plot of this story.**

**I have thought over this for a while, and I've decided. I'm going to take on the TAF: Challenge Edition thing. Don't worry, I'm still working on 'Monster,' so that means for this fic, updates may be less often until 'Monster' is finished.**

**For those of you who have NO IDEA what I have to do for this challenge, I have to use the prompts ****_Tangerine, Ferry,_**** and ****_Apocalypse_**** for the fic. I can use them literally, metaphorically...you get the idea. There is no word limit (YAY!) and I can use any characters I want! (DOUBLE YAY!)**

**The no-word-limit-thing being up my alley (I'm terrible with word limits), I decided to try it out. Why not? I think it'll be quite interesting...**

**...The only thing is, it didn't say whether I'm allowed to use OCs or not, so I'm assuming we're allowed to. If it turns out I'm not allowed to use OCs, this fic might be deleted. (Although I REALLY HOPE that we're allowed use OCs.)**

**Warnings: Possible pairings, OCs, possible character death, AU...um...I think that covers it. **

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you guys read and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_**Rebirth**_

* * *

_**1. End of the Act**_

* * *

It came.

It came _without_ warning.

Everyone had been living their peaceful lives when the apocalypse struck.

Cities burned. Plains were flooded. Statues crumbled. Earthquakes split the earth apart. Veichles were overturned or smashed to bits.

The painful, mournful screams of every living being in the world _echoed_ through the destruction.

* * *

In a hidden place, a hidden room, stood five figures. One of the figures sat on a chair while the other four stood nearby. All of their eyes was on the screen in front of them.

"...We must look." the sitting figure spoke quietly, with that ever so elegant, yet deep voice of hers. "We must look for those who have survived the end of the first act. Every cast member, every character counts; even those that may be cold of heart towards others."

"Yes...**_'Mother.'_ **We will." a man with long, long hair answered her softly. He looked at the screen in front of them, pausing before speaking up. "I already see two." He pointed at the screen as he spoke, and everyone looked. Two anthromorphic figures, one more feline-like while the other was more jackal-like, were amongst the rubble of Smash Mansion, and the jackal was shaking the bleeding feline furiously.

_"Come on, wake up!" _the jackal was shouting in desperation. _"Mewtwo...please. No...no! This can't be happening. This can't be happening. Don't-don't leave me alone!"_

The feline (Mewtwo) let out a soft groan, shakily raising a paw to briefly touch the jackal's face, before it fell.

_"NO!"_

The seated figure looked at the long-haired figure quietly, giving him a look. The figure nodded, before he ran out of the room.

* * *

_How...no! Mewtwo can't...he just can't-_Lucario was thinking to himself furiously as he held the dying psychic feline in his arms. The aura pokemon was trying his best to restrain himself from sobbing.

He was so unsure of what to do. He glanced at the ruins around him quietly. Mario had been crushed by pieces of falling debris. Meta Knight had bravely pushed Kirby out of the way as flames came rushing towards him. Lucas and Ness had even tried their hardest to stop the flooding tide get any closer, before the cold waters drowned them...

"Poyo?" Lucario turned to see Kirby, quickly running over to him. Lucario mentally sighed of relief. The puffball hadn't gotten hurt too much, save for a few cuts. Thank goodness...Meta Knight would be happy about that. "Poyo?" There were already tears welling up in Kirby's eyes as he stared at the dying feline.

_"We have to help him, Kirby...I-I don't know what to do-" _Lucario started, still trying to restrain himself from sobbing.

"He's still alive. He has to be." an unfamiliar voice spoke up. The two turned to see a man walk over to them.

_"Who are you!?" _Lucario choked out, holding Mewtwo a bit more closely. _"What do you want?"_

The man made eye contact with Lucario. "My name is of _no importance_, at least not right _now_. We must help your friend, or he will surely be deceased like the rest of the world. _Please_...I mean no harm. I can take you all to a safer place. Let me help you, please..." he trailed off.

_"Alright, fine!" _Lucario shouted. _"Just-just help him. Please..." _It was then that the aura pokemon broke into a sob.

The man picked up the unconscious feline quietly, cradling him in his arms as he whispered into Mewtwo's ear.

"You're going to be alright. I'll fix you...and I know you're going to stay alive. _It's not time for you to exit the stage yet..."_

* * *

**Author note: The last bit of the last line is actually a line from 'Count Cain: Godchild,' spoken by the character Jizabel. I don't own that. **


	2. Changes

**_2. Changes_**

_"Mewtwo?"_

Lucario's voice echoed in Mewtwo's mind as he slowly blinked open his eyes.

Everything around him was a light shade of aqua blue, and it suddenly came to him that he was submerged in a tank of some sort of liquid, with several cords attached to him by large claws. He felt an oxygen mask that covered his nose and mouth, and doing his best to calm down from the sudden realization, he took a deep breath as he looked at Lucario.

_"You're awake...Thank goodness!" _Lucario smiled a little bit from the other side of the tank. _"You've been knocked out for the past three days; and...things have changed an awful lot." _Lucario paused, looking downwards slightly before he continued. _"Don't try to speak right now; just-just keep recovering. You should be alright soon. Promise."_

"Actually, Lucario, I think it's alright for him to get out of that tank." A voice spoke up. A man with long, dark hair walked over to the aura pokemon. "Mother says that he has recovered enough to be let out now." He let out a quiet sigh before remarking, "It is already a miracle itself that he has survived such mortal injuries." A small smile slowly framed his face as he glanced at Mewtwo before walking over to a control panel and pressing a few buttons.

Immediately, the liquid drained out of the tube, and Mewtwo ripped off the oxygen mask himself before the tank opened, the glass part of the tank retracting as Lucario ran to Mewtwo and helped him take off the cords. The aura pokemon helped Mewtwo out of the tank and onto the floor.

"Thank you." Mewtwo spoke quietly before he froze in shock, horrified.

This voice wasn't his. It wasn't familiar to him at all. It came out in a breathy rasp, rather than his own deeper, clearer voice he had before through telepathy; before the whole apocalypse...

Immediately, he looked down at his hands. His skin was ghostly pale, and his hands had five slender fingers instead of three bulbous ones. He also realized he was definitely taller than Lucario as he looked down at the jackal pokemon; at least by a foot or two, and maybe an addition of a few inches as well.

"What..." He paused, composing himself before he spoke again. "What did you do to me?" He asked as he turned to the dark-haired man, observing him more closely. The man had long, black hair with dark purple streaks, tied back in a low ponytail that trailed halfway down his back. His eyes were a dark green, looking at Mewtwo gently. His figure was a bit slender, and he looked about the age of mid-twenties or a little older.

The man took a deep breath before he spoke, brushing a lock of dark purple hair out of his face. "Your original body was severely damaged that we had to take immediate action and perform a brain transplant to save you. And...this is the result. The original host of this body that you now possess would be happy about it. We've been preserving his body for the sake of this sort of situation." His dark green eyes made contact with Mewtwo's own eyes. "I know this is shocking to you...I'm sorry if this sudden information is horrifying you in any way at all. But it was the only way to save you."

There was silence between the three for moments, until Mewtwo spoke up again.

"So...this means that I am forced to possess this human's body until the day I die, correct? And does this means majority of my original abilites are now non-existent because of this?"

The man hesitated, biting his lower pale lip, before nodding quietly. "Sadly, yes. I'm sorry." he whispered quietly. The three were silent again.

"Uriel! I heard that Mewtwo woke up-WHOA!" The three turned to see a girl dash into the room before tripping. Her messy hair was black like the man, except that the man had dark purple streaks as well and that her hair was much shorter than his, only stopping an inch below her chin. Her dark brown eyes, dark bags underneath them, looked at Mewtwo quietly as she got up, wide with awe. Mewtwo figured that the girl must only be a teenager, probably around the age of twelve or thirteen. "Wow." She whispered quietly. Trembling slightly, she slowly walked over to them and extended a hand towards Mewtwo, trying her best to keep a grin on her face. "N-nice to meet you." She stuttered quietly. "My name is...Araceli."

Mewtwo shook her hand gently as the purple-streaked man face-palmed himself a little.

"Shoot, I forgot to introduce myself in the midst of all the explanations..." he trailed off before shaking hands with Mewtwo as well. "I'm sorry for not doing so earlier; my name is Uriel. It's...it's nice to finally speak with you."

"Nice...to meet you too." Mewtwo managed to speak, before he took a deep breath and asked another question. "Who is this 'Mother' that you mentioned to Lucario about?"

"Ah, Mother...that's only the name we call her by, a nickname." Uriel paused for a moment. "She's our leader, the one who got all of us together and with her help, survived the destruction of the apocalypse. She's very nice, and I believe she is occupied with looking for anymore possible survivors at the moment. I think she'd like to speak with you, though. She is pleased that we were able to help you."

"All of us?" Mewtwo repeated, confused. "Who is...us, in particular?"

"Seven of us." Araceli spoke up, making sharp eye contact with Mewtwo. "Seven including Mother, obviously. She gathered six of us humans to figure out a way to survive the apocalypse, and we've only been together for a year." she smiled a little. "Uriel and I are only two of those six humans chosen. The rest would love to meet you, but they are occupied at the moment, I think." She paused before she spoke up. "You probably want to have a better look of what your body looks like, right?" Mewtwo nodded quietly. "Come on; the mirror's over here..." she grasped Mewtwo lightly by the wrist and showed him to the mirror. "This is you now, appearance wise. If there is anyone you should thank, it's Mother. She's the one who did the brain transplant on you, after all."

Mewtwo didn't pay too much attention to Araceli's words as he gazed into the mirror. He had a better idea of what he looked like, now. His thick, messy hair was a lilac colour, short and reaching only to his chin His form was slender, perhaps maybe a tad underweight. He was barechested, his skin as deathly pale as his hands, and dark trousers covered his form from the waist down. He was barefoot, and Mewtwo remembered only minutes ago how he felt the cold, tiled floor underneath his feet when he stepped out of the tank. His face was thin, and his eyes were an amethyst and violet combined, glimmering in the reflection that stared back at him.

Mewtwo had another question to ask. "What was the name of the person who had this body before me?"

Uriel took a deep breath before he spoke. "His name was Gabriel."

* * *

**Author note: Wow...I'm seriously surprised to already have reviews! Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing, especially you, Tune4Toons! :) **


	3. Introductions

**_3. Introductions_**

"So...this is your room." Araceli spoke, opening a door. Mewtwo looked around quietly. There was a bed, as well as a closet. A desk with some paper and pencils on it was a few paces away from the closet, and there was an alarm clock on the desk as well. "I'm sure you could probably decorate it in the next while, but we'll have to see in terms of supplies. We can't waste too many things."

"I see." Mewtwo responded quietly. He thought back to when he saw his reflection in the mirror; 'Gabriel' was the previous owner of the body he now possesed. "Did Gabriel ever use this room?"

"Yeah. This was his bedroom." Araceli answered quietly. "I put all his previous stuff in there." she spoke, pointing at the closet. "We kept Gabriel's other clothing in there, too. After all, you do possess his body, and therefore have the same body type. During the operation, Mother even discovered that you both even had the same blood type, which made things easier for the brain transplant." She sighed. "I'm sorry...having to listen to me rant about Gabriel must be annoying to you."

"No, actually, I'm...interested." Mewtwo replied quickly. Sure, he felt disgusted inside that he had to get his mind transplanted to a _human's_ body, and that he lost majority of his psychic abilities with the exception of telepathy, but it was to save him. And to think that Gabriel, also one of the six humans chosen by Mother to find a way to survive the apocalypse, originally had actually _given_ permission to let his body be used like that; that wasn't anything Mewtwo had never really heard of before. "What was Gabriel's behaviour like?"

"Ah..." Araceli paused before she answered. "Gabriel was a nice guy. A little soft spoken; more of a thinker than a speaker, but he could definitely yell loudly when he needed to. He didn't have any romantic attraction towards anyone, though Raphael still liked him a bit. Sure, Gabriel could be a bit impatient at times, but overall he's one really great guy. Oh, and his age is twenty three, by the way. Raphael is thirty two."

_Gabriel is twenty three. This Raphael person is thirty two...that means Raphael took affection towards someone who was nine years younger than him! _Mewtwo thought to himself, shivering slightly at the thought. "Um...I'm assuming Gabriel probably did not like him back." Mewtwo spoke up.

"Yeah...he didn't like Raphael in that way, just to let you know. Like I mentioned, he didn't have any romantic attraction towards anyone. Especially Raphael." Araceli let out a breath before she continued. "Raphael also likes Uriel a bit in the same way he likes Gabriel. Raphael and Uriel's relationship as a result is just too confusing for me to figure out!"

As the two went out of the room and into the hallway, a man bumped into them, dropping a clipboard with some paper attached to it, as well as a few pens. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, snatching them off the floor before he looked up at Mewtwo. "I didn't mean to-" he paused, his eyes widening in surprise. "Gabriel?"

Before Mewtwo realized it, the man had quickly and tightly embraced him, not saying a word and not bothering about the clipboard and pens at all. He felt hot breath against his ear as strands of dark brown hair tickled his cheek slightly. Mewtwo felt slightly uncomfortable about the current situation. Perhaps the poor man was Raphael, the man Araceli mentioned to Mewtwo just now? The sight of Mewtwo in Gabriel's body must have shocked the man, thinking it was Gabriel instead of realizing...

"Raphael." Araceli whispered quietly. "Let go of him. It's not Gabriel. He's..." she hesitated before she finished. "This is the guy who we did a brain transplant into Gabriel's body. His name is Mewtwo."

Raphael let out a quiet sigh and let go of Mewtwo, taking a step back and picking up the clipboard and pens. "I'm sorry." he whispered quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. It's just..." he shook his head quietly, shaking out that thought. "It's...nice to meet you." he spoke, nodding his head gently, his eyes of celadon blue gazing at Mewtwo quietly as he adjusted a silver chain about his neck. Mewtwo mentally noted that the pendant could possibly be a locket.

"Nice to meet you, too." Mewtwo responded. "I understand your confusion; Araceli explained to me about...that you took affection towards both Gabriel and Uriel."

Raphael seemed to almost blush of possible embarassment, but his deep voice remained calm. "I-I see. I can understand why you weren't freaking out and trying to punch me in the face or, worst case scenario, kick me between the legs. Understandable." he paused before he spoke again. "I need to see Mother right now, so perhaps we can talk later."

"Yes...that would be beneficial for both of us." Mewtwo responded. "See you later."

"See you." With that being said, Raphael continued to walk down the hallway.

Mewtwo turned to Araceli. "It appears he hasn't seemed to recover much from Gabriel's death..." Mewtwo trailed off.

Araceli nodded. "Yeah. Gabriel died six months ago because of an incurable disease. It only affects the brain the most, so you should be okay, considering your brain is very healthy. Raphael didn't take it very well. It's-it's best not to mention Gabriel to him too much unless he wants to talk about it."

* * *

"You met him?" Mother's elegant, deep voice echoed in the room a little bit. She sat in the chair, reading the clipboard.

Raphael nodded quietly. "Yes, Mother. I was very shocked because when I first laid eyes on him...I thought it was Gabriel. But I know it's not him. It may be Gabriel's body, but...Mewtwo lacks the behaviour that Gabriel has." he bit his lip a little. "That doesn't make it any easier to think of him as Mewtwo and not as Gabriel. That scares me a little."

"There is no need to fear him, Raphael." Mother replied quietly. "Treat Mewtwo well, and help him learn how things go about here. That's all you need to do. All of us do want to sustain a living for ourselves, especially now that the apocalypse only ended days ago." She handed the clipboard back to him. "The results are good. You and Uriel did a good job of monitoring Mewtwo while he was unconscious."

"Yes...Mother." Raphael smiled a little as he responded. "And thank you."

"It is no problem at all, Raphael."

* * *

**Author note: Just thought I'd reply to a review.**

**JJ- Yeah, I know Mewtwo might probably be a bit angry that most of his psychic powers are gone, but I think he would be much too shocked at the time to actually be angry at anyone. I mean, sure, he lost his powers and now he's in a human body (Gabriel's body), but it saved his life. I think he might be a bit grateful for that. Oh, and about the names, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel are all names of angels. I kind of chose the names because they sounded cool and stuff.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and maybe I can get the next chapter out by Halloween! (Wait, hold on a second, wasn't I going to try to get the next chapter in 'Monster' up by Halloween? ...I should get at least one of the two things up...oh dear...) Okay, it's either that the next chapter in 'Monster' will be up by Halloween or the next chapter for this fic. Or both. Or neither. We'll see.**

**In the meantime, please review and read my other fics! Thanks for your patience!**


	4. Reunion

**_4. Reunion_**

"Lucario and Kirby are not the only other Smashers that have survived." Araceli told Mewtwo as the two continued down the hall. "We found Peach Toadstool a two days ago, as well as Red the Pokemon Trainer and Ike Greil. Unfortunately, Lucas, Ness, Mario and Pikachu have been confirmed to be deceased."

"What about Meta Knight?" Mewtwo asked.

"We don't know yet. No one has found him yet. Either he survived and he's in hiding, or he got obliterated by the apocalypse. That's my theory."

The two entered a lounge, filled with armchairs and couches. A piano was against a wall, unused. And sitting on a couch was Kirby and Peach.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby shouted, jumping up and running over to Mewtwo, grinning. Mewtwo smiled down at the puffball before he turned to Peach.

Peach looked a little shocked from her facial expression, and she slowly walked over to him. "Mewtwo..." She paused for a moment before she spoke again. "I still can't believe you've survived. And your appearance; you've-" She paused again before finishing, "You've changed."

"I know. A lot has happened in the past few days, according to Araceli." Mewtwo responded quietly. "I'm just glad you and everyone else is alright."

"Hey, Peachie, aren't you going to introduce me to him? It's awfully rude of you to not do so." A voice spoke up. The others turned to see a young woman sitting on the piano bench, with light blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a dark red t-shirt with jeans. She looked at Peach, as if expecting something.

Araceli sighed. "Mewtwo, this is Lilith. Lilith, this is Mewtwo." She spoke.

Lilith walked over to Mewtwo, looking at him carefully. "So this is the guy who's brain is in Gabriel's body." She spoke quietly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mewtwo."

"Nice to meet you, too." Mewtwo responded quietly. He turned to Peach. "Where are Ike and Red? Araceli told me that they also survived."

"Um, yeah, about that..." Araceli trailed off. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "Red's fine, but...Ike had almost as much damage as you, Mewtwo. There's nothing that would have his life in jepoardy, but he broke a few ribs, has a concussion, and his right arm is broken."

Mewtwo turned to Araceli. "Can I see him now?"

* * *

"Ike?" Lilith opened the door, and she, Mewtwo, Peach, Kirby, and Araceli entered the room to see Red, sitting by the bedside. In the bed was Ike, his right arm in a cast. There were bandages around his head, and he was sitting up. He and Red looked at the five quietly.

Red's eyes widened when he saw Mewtwo. "Whoa..." He trailed off. "Mewtwo...wow...I don't even know what to say."

"You're not the only one who was speechless when they got a look at my appearance. I myself was shocked as well." Mewtwo admitted. "I'm glad you and Ike are alright..."

"Red?" Ike's voice sounded hoarse, and his dark eyes looked at Mewtwo in confusion. "Who is...he?"

"Ike...this is Mewtwo. He underwent a surgery and he got his brain transplanted to a different body."

"Mewtwo?" Ike looked even more confused. "Red, I'm not sure if I understand..."

Before Red could speak, a young man, probably only a year or two older than Ike ran into the room. He held a clipboard in one hand, and he wore a white lab coat overtop a dark green t-shirt and jeans. His dirty-blond hair was a complete mess. "Sorry I haven't gotten back here until now; there was a really big mess that I needed to clean up and-whoa." He stared at Mewtwo, his greenish-blue eyes wide with surprise. "Is Gabriel alive, or am I seeing things?" he asked.

"Mewtwo, this is Michael. Michael, this is Mewtwo. Mother transplanted his brain into Gabriel's body, remember?" Araceli told him.

"Oh, yeah, right!" Michael replied, grinning a bit. "Just call me Myde; I like that name better. Nice to meet you!" He extended a hand towards Mewtwo, who shook it. Myde then turned to Araceli. "I got the results just now about Ike. His concussion isn't major, it should actually heal up in a few weeks, surprisingly." He told her. "There's only one problem."

"What?" Lilith spoke up. "Don't tell me his brain suffered major damage and he's going to die in a few weeks or something-"

"No, nothing like that!" Myde responded. "It's just..." He glanced at Ike briefly before finishing. "He's got amnesia. I'm not sure how much he remembers of before the apocalypse happened."

Araceli cringed. "Shoot."

* * *

**Author note: Just wanted to wish you guys a Happy Halloween! :)**


	5. Complications

**_5. Complications_**

"Ike's got amnesia!?" Red gasped. "Man, that's not good! I mean," He glanced at Mewtwo briefly. "How the heck is Ike supposed to remember Mewtwo, especially if Mewtwo isn't in his original body?"

"You bring up a good point about that..." Myde admitted. "The only thing I can think of is show pictures of Mewtwo's brain transplant-"

"You took PICTURES of his operation!?" Araceli exclaimed, staring at Myde. "Dude, what are you thinking!? You'll scare the heck out of Ike! No way am I allowing that, and I doubt Mother would approve of it either!"

"What's a brain transplant?" Ike asked, confused.

"You'll find out later, Ike..." Red trailed off, sighing.

Mewtwo, watching this scene unfold, just sighed. He didn't think anyone would be sane enough to actually take pictures of the operation; let alone someone like Myde... For sure, he knew things were just going to get more complicated in terms of interacting with Ike at the least.

* * *

"Sorry about that." Araceli apologized as she and Mewtwo walked through the hallway. "I didn't realize Myde actually took PICTURES of your operation. I'll make sure to find them and destroy them in any way I can. I can even kick Myde inbetween the legs for you if you want."

"No need to, Araceli. If he pulls off something idiotic like that, I'll do it myself." Mewtwo answered. It was obvious from Araceli's tone of voice that she and Myde got along decently; but had disagreements at times...such as the previous event just now. "Do you think Ike will recover from his amnesia anytime soon?"

"I hope so. Myde said it was only of memories before the apocalypse; and that's probably an awful lot of memories...I don't know how long it's going to take Ike to remember everything, but I hope he does remember soon."

"Yeah...I hope so, too." Mewtwo remembered the last time he had fought against Ike. Those sharp eyes that could be found on Ike's face; focused on the Brawl as he used his sword Ragnell to slash at him, hoping to hit him... Mewtwo had fought back with psychic barriers and shadow balls. The match had ended up in a draw; due to time running out. Mewtwo hadn't seen that sharp, focused look in Ike's eyes when he saw the amnesiac Smasher just now. He hoped that look would come back.

* * *

"Ike Greil has amnesia..." Mother sighed as she read over the reports. "I have a feeling he will have a long way to go before he gets used to life around here if he's struggling to get his memories back already."

Myde nodded quickly. "Yeah, it's unfortunate. At least he survived the apocalypse, Mother...That's a good thing, right?"

"That is true." Mother looked up at Myde, pausing before she spoke again. "I think...I would like to talk with Mewtwo privately sometime soon."

"Of course. That can be arranged tonight after dinner."

"Of course. Thank you."


	6. Mother

**_6. Mother_**

Mewtwo stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath. Uriel had informed him earlier that Mother had some time available and wished to finally speak with him. Mewtwo was glad about this, yes, but he was also a little nervous. What sort of person was Mother, anyway? A surgeon? How else could she have done the brain transplant operation on Mewtwo?

Mother wasn't even the person's true name. It was only a nickname, as Uriel had mentioned earlier.

Mewtwo took a deep breath again, before opening the door and walking into the room.

The first thing that caught his attention were the many computer screens that were against the wall. Some seemed to show some sort of data, others showed scenes of the outside world, and a few showed a few familiar rooms, from the lounge to the lab where Mewtwo had awakened much earlier.

"Fascinating, is it not?" A deep, but definitely feminine voice spoke up. Mewtwo turned to see a figure sitting on a revolving chair, surrounded by the computer screens. "The computer screens are the first thing most people lay their eyes upon the first time they enter this room, rather than myself as I have noticed."

Mewtwo hesitated before speaking. "I'm assuming you are 'Mother,' as your associates call you?" He asked.

The figure nodded, gesturing to him to take a seat. "I am. My real name is Maria. It's a pleasure to finally...speak with you."

Mewtwo took a seat as he looked at her carefully. 'Mother,' aka Maria, had long, silver tresses of hair that flowed past her shoulders. She wore a simple white long-sleeved shirt, with black pants and shoes. Her lips were a pale rose pink, and her eyes were as blue as a clear spring sky.

He paused before he started to speak. "I am glad that I finally get to speak with you as well. I thank you for...saving my life."

"Well, you have to more of thank Gabriel. Had he not given permission to let his body be used in such a way, you would probably be deceased. All I did was transfer your brain to his body." Maria responded. She extended a small orange fruit towards him. "Would you like a piece of tangerine?" She asked quietly.

Mewtwo was a bit confused. "I thought that taking the apocalypse into account, there wouldn't be much fresh food, particularly fruit..."

"We have mostly dried fruit and vegetables with us, as well as much non-perishable food items as possible. We also have quite a bit of distilled water, in caution that the water outside may possibly be contaminated." Maria responded, unpeeling the fruit. "And your response doesn't particularly answer my previous question."

"Um...right." Mewtwo nodded. "Sure. I wouldn't mind having a piece or two."

Maria smiled as she handed Mewtwo two pieces of the tangerine. "Sharing food with others is a sign of hospitality. I always like to share a tangerine with the survivors that recently join us; I think it makes them feel welcome." She remarked quietly, before popping a piece of tangerine into her mouth.

"Let me try to guess why specifically a tangerine...Because it is your favourite fruit?" Mewtwo asked before taking a bite out of his piece of tangerine.

Maria swallowed before answering. "Precisely. Uriel also likes them, and he's been trying to grow a tangerine tree, as well as other sorts of fruit trees in the greenhouse. He started this last year, when my associates and I were in the process of planning out the survival of the apocalypse."

"If...If that's so, wouldn't you tell others, so that they could assist you and survive as well?" Mewtwo asked, confused again.

"...They scoffed at the idea of an apocalypse. They told us it was nothing but mere myth, a fairytale." Maria sighed. "It is unfortunate I could not get others to help. Uriel, Gabriel, Araceli, Lilith, Raphael and Michael were the only ones who believed me and wished to work with me."

Mewtwo noted that she seemed quite unhappy about the whole issue. He had a feeling he shouldn't press on this any further and move the subject to something different.

"Why would Gabriel allow himself to be used like this?" Mewtwo asked, looking down at his pale hands briefly before looking at Maria. "Why would he allow his own body to be used...for circumstances such as my case?"

Maria took a deep breath before speaking. "He cares so much for the people around him. The only reason I can think of for him to allow such a thing was because he just simply cared about the fellow creatures in the world, and he wanted to give them a second chance at life. You're lucky that you posess his body, and that you do not waste that chance."

* * *

Mewtwo walked down the hallway, on the way back to his room, thinking about the conversation he had with Maria earlier. She was nice, he admitted, and she surely seemed to care an awful lot for the survivors. However, he felt as if...something was off. Even if he couldn't read minds, he could sense that she could be hiding something...and he was unsure of what it could be.

That alone scared him a little, he hated to admit.

Before his train of thought could continue, it crashed completely when he heard voices, coming from the lab.

"You have to get used to him being up and about, Raphael. You have to. He's not Gabriel. You did say that he lacked Gabriel's behaviour." Uriel's voice was heard first.

"I know that! Even so, it still...frightens me...and I know I have to get used to it. Gabriel is not back from the dead; it is Mewtwo having posession over his body. I just know...I just know I still haven't gotten over Gabriel's death completely, I know that! It's scaring me, Uriel. It's scaring me!" Raphael's voice responded, full of panic. "I'm scared I'm going to go insane over this..."

"Raphael. You can do this. You can can get over Gabriel's death. And you're not going to go insane. You're nowhere near insane."

"Uri..."

"Raph..." Uriel appeared to hesitate. "May...May I kiss you?"

That was when Mewtwo went into the lab, having not paid attention to the last two lines, and saw Uriel and Raphael, the two kissing briefly before they took a step back from each other and turned to Mewtwo. Raphael's eyes widened in horror as Mewtwo stared in disbelief.

"...Gabriel?" Raphael spoke quietly.

"Raph, Gabriel, Mother would like to talk to you-" Araceli stopped in the doorway, looking at the three. There was silence for a moment before she spoke up again. "Um...Mewtwo, I want to show you something." Araceli spoke, tugging on Mewtwo's arm quickly. "Okay?"

All Mewtwo did was nod before he and Araceli quickly left the room.


	7. Reasoning

**_7. Reasoning_**

Araceli sighed as she and Mewtwo walked quickly down the hallway, Araceli keep a tight grip on Mewtwo's wrist. "Raphael...bloody Raphael...how long is it going to be until he gets over Gabriel's death?" She muttered under her breath. "He is a much a fool. This is why I vowed not to fall in love with anyone."

"What?" Mewtwo asked, not understanding the last statement. "Why-"

"One moment." Araceli cut in, before she flung open a nearby door and the two went into the room. She shut the door behind them, sighing a bit. "Sorry about that." She spoke up again. "Yes, I may have under-exagerrated my view to you on...Uriel and Raphael's, ahem, relationship. My apologies for that. And I don't have anything to really show you, by the way, unless you count my room, so I apologize for lying."

Mewtwo looked around Araceli's room quietly. The floor and walls were immaculately white, just like the laboratory, and even the bedsheets were white. A neat, cream-coloured dresser was across from the bed, and there was a black, wooden desk at the far end of the room, with sheets of paper scattered all over it.

"I know, my room isn't much to look at. I will decorate it eventually; I've been wanting to do so since the project with Mother and everyone else started." Araceli remarked, shrugging a bit before turning to Mewtwo. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, um..." Mewtwo paused before asking, "What exactly is your view on Uriel and Raphael's relations towards each other exactly? And why do you vow not to 'fall in love' with anyone? I don't understand..."

Araceli sighed, before speaking. "My view on it is that it's...just seemingly unhealthy. Raphael nearly fell apart, emotionally, after Gabriel was deceased. Uriel was the one to console him during that time, and they bonded due to that. I'm just worried that Raphael's using Uriel as some replacement for Gabriel. And now that you're up and about in Gabriel's body, it's...not making the situation much better, no offense towards you in any way, but it's true. I don't want to fall in love it it's going to destroy me like that in the end."

Mewtwo understood her reasoning. He had heard, in fairytales that he read, that sometimes one went insane sometimes with the loss of their loved ones. And it was good that Uriel was trying to help Raphael, but if Raphael was using him like that, it wasn't really much of a help. Araceli did have a point, a point that made much sense. But did that point alone have to be her reasoning for shutting away that feeling from herself, to cage her emotions shut so they couldn't fly freely?

* * *

A lone figure stared around as he stood on the roof of a supermarket, the night sky of the apoctalyptic wasteland around him.

He hadn't seen anyone in days, which was unfortunate. He only prayed that Kirby, at the least, was alive and safe somewhere, with other Smashers.

He was glad to have survived the fire that he got caught in, though it did leave second-degree burns on some parts of his body. He felt very, very lucky to have stumbled upon that abandoned supermarket and made it to the pharmacy section in time. He survived off the non-perishable goods in the building, and there were still some jars of peanut butter left, and some distilled water. He would okay for a couple more days in terms of food.

His sword Galaxia suffered a few scratches, but the overall damage wasn't too bad. At least he could use it still to fend off any zombies or any unnatural enemies as he remembered reading from those fictional books about their zombie apocalypses in all, if zombies did exist now. He also took the liberty of using everything he needed to survive, considering there was no one else around in the market to tell him what to do. Mainly, food (he had that due to the non-perishable foods), shelter (already taken care of, considering that the supermarket wasn't completely wrecked, only a few sections of the roofing cracked apart), and clothing (he didn't really use that much clothing, anyway). Taking into consideration that he didn't need too much clothing, he used some of those items to build a hammock. That wasn't really as easy as it seemed, but he somehow managed it.

Tomorrow, he would search for other Smashers, any survivors. He hoped that maybe he'll be able to see Kirby, alive and well.

He wasn't sure what he would do if Kirby was dead.

* * *

**Author note: I'm terribly sorry for not updating this in a long while. I got busy with other fics and life outside fanfiction in general. The same goes for 'Fight Inside,' and I will try to get that updated soon, too.**

**Constructive Criticism and reviews would be nice (I haven't really read any), as they would help me with this fic a lot. Please? (insert Bambi eyes here)**

**Again, thanks for reading! :)**


	8. Searching

**_8. Searching_**

"Mewtwo? Mewtwo, wake up! Morning!"

Mewtwo let out a quiet groan as he sat up in bed, listening to Myde's voice and the knocking on his door.

"Are you awake?"

Mewtwo sighed, walked up to the door, and opened the door before answering quickly. "Yes, I'm awake Myde, thank you."

"Alright then!" Myde replied, grinning as he brushed his messy hair back with one hand. "I'm going to go wake up Lilith. Wish me luck; she's as scary as heck if she's not in a good mood." He then left, whistling a little bit as he walked down the hallway.

"Morning." Mewtwo turned to his left to see Red walk down the hall towards him. "Did you sleep well?" The Pokemon Trainer asked. He was clothed in red t-shirt, with jeans. He was barefoot, but he didn't seem to mind it.

"I suppose you could say so." Mewtwo responded quietly. He paused before asking, "How is Ike?"

Red sighed. "He hasn't remembered a thing yet. I stayed with him all night, I didn't want him to be alone, you know. I hope he'll recover his memories as soon as he recovers from that concussion."

Mewtwo couldn't help but agree with Red. The sooner Ike recovered his memories, the better. It would be terrible if he didn't remember any of the other Smashers, especially his best friends, Marth, Roy and Meta Knight.

Meta Knight. Mewtwo immediately thought back to when he saw Meta push Kirby out of the way of a torrent of flames. Did he survive?

Only time could tell, as well as searching.

* * *

Everyone finished eating a breakfast of bread and glasses of apple juice. There wasn't much to eat; they had to ration their food supply carefully, despite the amount of storage they had. Even Maria was there, instead of being seperate from the others like the past evening's supper.

As soon as everyone finished eating, that was when Maria spoke up.

"A survivor has been spotted approximately ten kilometres east from here last night, at a wrecked supermarket. Lilith, Mewtwo, and Lucario, I need you three to go out there and bring him back here as soon as possible."

Lilith nodded quietly, but then Araceli spoke up.

"Are you sure it's alright for Mewtwo to go out already? He just woke up from his sort-of comatose state yesterday, and he may need to adjust to his new...erm, body." She spoke with concern in her tone.

"Araceli, I'm sure he'll be fine." Lilith insisted. "Besides, it's not like the air out there is going to kill him. And he's got me and Lucario to help. Mewtwo's adjusted to Gabriel's body. Right?" She spoke, turning to Mewtwo. The look in her eyes seemed to say, _Just say yes. Don't you want to see what's outside this place, anyway?_

"Um, yes..." Mewtwo trailed off, nodding with agreement.

"It is settled, then." Maria responded. "The three of you will prepare and be on your way. And...try to be back by dinner at the latest." She ended, smiling a bit before leaving the room.

* * *

Lilith stood at the entrance to the outside as she spoke to Lucario and Mewtwo, the door closed.

"Are you guys ready? I can tell you first off that your world looks a lot different than when you ever last saw it before the apocalypse." She spoke, one of her hands on her hips. Lucario and Mewtwo exchanged similar glances of confirmation before nodding in response. With that decision being made, Lilith kicked the door open, and the three went outside.

* * *

The outside looked completely different than when Mewtwo last remembered before the apocalypse.

Trees were strewn on the ground, as if some wild animal chewed them up and spit them out. Buildings were cracked in half, shattered glass scattered upon the ground. Ashes blew about in the silent breeze. There was no sound of anyone breathing, or talking, or moving except for Mewtwo, Lucario and Lilith.

The world they knew had become a complete wasteland, devoid of any life.

Mewtwo didn't know what to say. He was completely speechless as his dark eyes took in the entire scene.

"Yeah, I know. It's really...kind of sad to look at, isn't it?" Lilith sounded a bit more solemn as she spoke. "C'mon. We better get moving if we want to get back by dinner." With those words being said, they trudged through the remains of those once living.

* * *

**Author note: I know, this chapter is basically a filler...but next chapter we get to see some Meta Knight! **

**Again, sorry for not updating in a while; and same goes for my fic 'Fight Inside.' With Christmas holidays coming up, I should have more time to work on these and therefore update them sooner.**


	9. Another Reunion

**_9. Another Reunion_**

"Here we are..." Lilith trailed off.

Mewtwo looked at the wrecked building. Part of the roof had smashed in, and an overturned car, the damage beyond repair, had smashed into one of the main doors. Pieces of bricks, broken shopping carts, and other miscellaneous items were scattered everywhere.

"So, the survivor is inside the building, right?" Mewtwo asked.

Lilith nodded. "Yes. Come on, let's get in there, find the survivor, and get him back to the base." She spoke, before the three started to walk closer to the building, when-

A small, spherical figure appeared out of nowhere and pointed his sword at them, tattered cape blowing in the light breeze as sharp eyes stared at them.

_"Meta Knight!" _Lucario exclaimed, rushing over to him.

Meta Knight nearly dropped his sword. "Lucario?" He spoke, surprised. "I thought you-That nearly everyone-"

_"I survived."_ Lucario told him. _"Same with Peach, and Red. The same also goes for Ike, but he's got amnesia."_

Meta Knight hesitated before speaking. "What about Kirby? Is...Is he alive?"

Lucario merely gave a nod. The shorter Smasher gave a sigh of relief, before looking at Mewtwo and Lilith. "Who are these two?"

_"Oh, um, Meta Knight, this is Lilith," _he gestured to Lilith, who gave a quick wave, _"And...this is Mewtwo. His body was nearly...destroyed during the apocalypse. Mother gave him a brain transplant surgery into someone else's body." _Lucario tried to explain as briefly as possible.

"Mother?" Meta Knight seemed a bit confused there. "Who's Mother?"

"The one heading our survival of the apocalypse, and hopefully our survival continuing after that." Lilith answered quickly. "We're here to bring you back to our base so you can get some help."

"Wait a second." Mewtwo spoke up, turning to Meta Knight. "Do you know if you saw any other survivors, Meta?"

Meta Knight shook its head/body. "No. I haven't seen anyone. I've been trying to fend for myself. It's amazing how much jar food in there is that isn't destroyed. I've been living off that stuff and the bottled water, too."

Lilith widened her eyes. "Meta Knight, that's great. We can bring that stuff back to base!" She exclaimed, grinning. "I think it would help with food supply a bit, especially the water. We need to make sure to bring all that is left here."

_"Everything at once?"_ Lucario asked. _"There's only the four of us to grab things, and I don't think we have enough hands to grab everything."_

Lilith nodded. "True. But we can take what we can for now, tell Mother and everyone else about the rest of it back at base, and maybe we can grab that quickly before dusk. Sounds like a good plan?"

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes."

* * *

Maria and the others were pleased that they had yet another survivor to join the group, as well as more food and water. They willingly helped and brought the rest of the food back to the base before sundown.

Now, it was after dinner, and while Meta Knight was in deep conversation with Kirby, and almost everyone else was conversing with each other; Uriel was in the lab alone, reading over his clipboard.

"Mewtwo..." He murmured quietly. "Still stable after brain transplant, surgery, that's good..." He took a photo out of his lab coat pocket and smiled a bit. "Heh. Gabriel, you would be proud."

* * *

**Author note: Okay. Really short chapter, but at least I've got something up. I promise it'll be a bit longer next time. **


	10. Thinking Backwards

**_10. Thinking Backwards_**

Ike lay in bed quietly, trying to think; even though with a concussion he really shouldn't be.

Why couldn't he remember anything? Amnesia, Myde told him days ago. He knew it was because of that but what _caused _it in the first place? Did he get bonked on the head during the apocalypse by a falling piece of rubble or something else? Contamination from nuclear plants? He honestly didn't know.

It wasn't like he didn't have a clear vision of who all his friends were, what they were like and such; it's just that he couldn't remember what they looked like. Names weren't a problem, but matching them to faces that were blurred in his mental vision was highly difficult. He only remembered Red and Mewtwo completely so far. Kirby, Peach, and the other surviving Smashers were people he was still trying to remember.

Red was the only one out of everyone besides Maria and her six assistants that visited him most often. Ike remembered asking about it earlier in the day, and Red had replied it was simply because he felt that Ike needed company; that he shouldn't be completely isolated just because of a concussion and lack of memory. Ike figured it was awfully nice of him to do such a thing, and he was grateful for it.

Red was here right now, sitting in a chair beside his bed and reading a book aloud, while Ike was trying to sort out faces and names again. There was another swordsman...with blue hair like his, except it was thinner and straighter...The hair was longer, too. And he wore a tiara. Weird. He remembered hearing this particular swordsman mention that he used to love someone, but she had died in the midst of battle. What was her name again? Sheeda?

What was the swordsman's name?

"Marth."

"Huh?" Red looked up from the novel he was reading. "You remember someone?"

"Yeah, him. Marth. He wore that tiara, didn't he?" Ike spoke up.

"Yeah. He and Meta Knight helped you out during the whole Subspace Emissary thing." Red responded, shuffling a bit in his seat to get a bit more comfortable. "You guys were really close."

"Meta Knight..." Ike immediately matched the name to the face. "Is he alive?"

"Yeah. He just joined us today, Ike. I think he's probably sleeping though. Maybe I can get him to visit you tomorrow." Red flipped to the next page of the book as he responded to this.

"...Red?" Ike paused for another moment before asking. "Is Marth alive, by any chance?"

Red let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, Ike. They haven't found him yet."

Even though his mind hurt a lot now from all the thinking, Ike prayed that Marth was still alive.

Outside the hospital room, Myde is grinning, happy that Ike has someone who's looking out for him and supporting him in his slow recovery.

* * *

The two were lying in bed, hands intertwined and snuggling close to each other. Raphael and Uriel slept in the same bed together more often now, regardless of which bedroom they were in (Raphael or Uriel's rooms, that is). They couldn't help it. They were that close, they had this relationship, and the two felt, at least, that there really was someone that really loved them and would love to spend the rest of their lives with them.

Their relationship couldn't exactly be called 'true love' or anything like that. They weren't in this for sexual satisfication, for simple flirting and experimenting, or for completely deep, passionate love like the fairytales. They were this close because...

_Why are we so close? _Uriel and Raphael thought the exact same thoughts in their heads, and they didn't need to tell each other about it, because they just felt like they knew they were thinking the same thing. _Why are we sleeping in the same room, the same bed? Why are we together like this? Is it because of our own emotions, because we really love each other...Or is it because of everything that has shattered around us, because of _his _death along with it all? Why?_

After so much thinking, Uriel finally broke into tears.

Raphael instinctively wrapped his arms around Uriel a bit tighter, and murmuring gently and quietly words of reassurance, pleading him not to cry.

_"Please...please stop crying. I don't know what to do when you cry."_

_"I know that...But I'm sick and tired of it all..."_

Raphael was just as sick and tired of it all as Uriel was.

Both had considered all sorts of ways to deal with the situation since the beginning of the group's attempt to survive this apocalypse. Comfot/pity sex, alcohol, drugs, cutting themselves, throwing themselves off a cliff or hanging themselves...Of course, none of these things seemed anything rational, but they were desperate. Of course, they never attempted anything like that. That was stupid, that was wrong, and that was irrational. Completely, utterly, _irrational._

They were supposed to stay rational, supposed to stay calm, even with that impending doom lingering closer with every day.

After Gabriel's death, that was when Raphael started acting more irrational than ever. He'd started swearing more (he usually never said a swear word at all), crying more, and Uriel was sure he'd once saw Raphael contemplate cutting himself, switchblade in hand, before throwing it against the wall opposite to him and starting to bawl.

Uriel never wanted Raphael to break down completely. He'd only wanted to help.

So one day, Uriel just simply pulled Raphael aside from work, and told him how he felt about the whole situation, what his feelings were towards Raphael right now, and his complete concern for Raphael (both health-wise and emotion-wise). Raphael responded to this by grabbing Uriel by the shirt collar, and pulling him in for a rough kiss, completely full of passion and a longing for some sort of comfort.

That was when Araceli had walked into the room, intent on informing them that lunch was ready, and saw them.

Uriel felt bad about it. Raphael felt bad about it. They both remembered that kiss still, and when Araceli discovered them, and wondered from time to time if this relationship was really worth it. They talked about it several times, tried to deny their 'irrational' love for each other by listing every single flaw for such a relationship, and even tried not to communicate with each other as a way of saying _'This is really irrational and we really should stop this.'_ Nevertheless, they kept coming back together.

They're not so sure if that's a good thing.

* * *

Every night that Raphael and Uriel go sleep in the same bedroom, Araceli is sitting right outside the door, listening and praying that they're not doing anything one-hundred-percent irrational.

Wait. They crossed that line months ago. Araceli saw the whole thing, and immediately figured that she didn't want to fall in love if it was going to hurt her like that. She didn't want to end up being as irrational as, well, those two.

But then again, maybe her own choices on that matter seemed pretty irrational as well. C'mon, closing up your heart from feeling any romantic feelings just because of a mental breakdown and a constant feeling of _wanting _to feel love from someone seemed mighty irrational, didn't it? But Araceli didn't want to become that irrational. She wasn't sure if she could survive that, and therefore closed up her heart.

It wasn't like anyone loved her like that, anyway. She didn't care about it anymore.

* * *

Mother blinked for the hundredth time, looking away from the computer screens glaring at her face. There was no way she was going to see any survivors if she kept exposing her eyes to artificial light so much during the night, especially if she was getting so exhausted.

She stood, rubbing her eyes with one arm, before turning and leaving the room. She figured she needed to look at something other than artificial light, perhaps the night sky, for just a brief moment and then she'll go to sleep.

As soon as she got outside, however, she realized she wasn't alone.

The sight of him astounded her, even though his back was towards her as he stood, moonlight streaming over his figure and highlighting it in the dark of night. His lilac-violet hair was slightly messy as always, his posture completely straight and perfect as always, and-

When he turned his head towards her, she remembered that this wasn't Gabriel, the associate and friend that she and the others had known before his death. This was Mewtwo, posessing the body which Gabriel gladly gave up, saying that it should be used for one's survival since Gabriel wouldn't live past the apocalypse.

"So...You're here." Mewtwo spoke quietly, turning completely to face her. "I wasn't expecting anyone to join me."

"Nor did I expect you up here, either." Maria responded, pushing a lock of silver hair behind her ear. "Why are you up so late?"

"...I needed to think backwards." Mewtwo finally replied after a moment of hesitation.

"Pardon? Think backwards?" She took a few steps towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Remember old memories. Think back to what one said and what the other said in response. It's completely up for interpretation on the actual meaning of those two words combined." Mewtwo responded smoothly, tilting his head sideways in an attempt to stretch his neck a bit. "I thought I could figure out a purpose for which I live now, taking the circumstances that the apocalypse just struck and I'm in a human body rather than my cloned-self of Mew."

"Mew? What is that? Another Pokemon?"

"Yes. Her." Mewtwo responded quietly. "I dully believed long ago that I was the strongest Pokemon in existence; that clones and Pokemon were completely superior to...humans. Mew, assisted by a young boy stopped me from doing that. And years later, that boy came back to save me from the people that created and enslaved me originally. I can't forget his face. If I could only remember his name..." He paused for a moment. "Red looks an awful lot like him, but he's not him."

Mother paused for a moment, before asking. "Have you found a purpose yet?"

"Aside from praying that the other Smashers are alright, that Ike gets cured of his amnesia, and that Uriel and Raphael's relationship is actually...rational enough...No. I haven't. But I'm looking for a purpose." He walked a bit closer towards her. "You should get some sleep; the dark circles around your eyes make it so evident that you're suffering from a lack of rest."

She nodded quietly. "I was planning to."

He gave a silent, single nod. "Good. Suppose we must both depart to bed." He started to walk back to the door, but he turned and extended his hand towards her. "Perhaps I can accompany you back to your room, to make sure you don't fall into slumber so suddenly mid-way?"

"Yes." She held his hand in hers.

* * *

**Author note: Phew. Finally got this chapter up! Yay! **

**A big THANK YOU goes to Tune4Toons for giving me a whole ton of concrit recently, and I'm really glad about it, so cheers to you! :) Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon. Thanks to everyone for reading and for being so patient!**


	11. Sunrise

**_11. Sunrise_**

"Yo."

Myde groaned quietly under the covers of his bed as he felt someone poke his head several times.

"C'mon, Myde. Wake up!" Lilith's voice spoke into his ear.

"Five more minutes..." Myde groaned quietly, trying to bury his head into the pillow, but he felt the pillow being snatched away, before the blanket covering him was pulled off. "Aah!" Myde sat up, staring at Lilith. "You didn't have to do that!" He exclaimed as he stood, facing her completely.

"Yeah, yeah, I had to. Otherwise you wouldn't have woken up at all." Lilith responded, letting a hand run through her slightly unkempt hair as the other one rested against her hip. "It's our turn to prepare breakfast today, so get dressed, will you?"

"Yeah, okay..." Myde trailed off as he walked over to the dresser and opened a drawer, taking out a dark green shirt. He turned to Lilith. "Mother actually got some sleep last night." He told her.

It was Lilith's turn to stare. "Seriously?" She asked, completely in disbelief. "Mother never gets enough sleep if she ever gets any..."

"She couldn't handle being in front of the computer screens much longer and she had to get some rest. I saw Mewtwo accompany her to her bedroom, and then he left her there." Myde spoke up as he pulled his shirt on. Opening another drawer to retrieve a pair of trousers (he was in his boxers currently), he continued. "She's really sacrificing her health for the sake of looking for the survivors. I'm thinking of taking over the surveillance shift for her today so she can get some rest."

"That sounds like a good idea." The other replied as she tilted her head to the side a little. "Yeah, she really should get some rest. I'll be prepared to lecture her on the importance of sleep if she objects." She joked.

"Nah, Uriel will probably beat you to that." Myde responded after buttoning up his trousers. The two shared a quick few chuckles before they headed towards the kitchen area.

* * *

"Araceli?" Peach nudged Araceli gently, as the teen was still in bed. "Good morning..." She trailed off quietly.

"Nnn...Morning already?" The younger one murmured as she sat up. She turned to Peach, her eyes obviously looking a bit sleepy. "Raphael and Uriel didn't do anything irrational last night, did they?" She muttered as she rubbed her eyes.

"Irrational?" Peach asked, and then Araceli launched into her explanation.

"I sit outside the door for two hours whenever Uriel and Raphael sleep in the same room that night. Their relationship, I feel, is somewhat irrational in the sense that they got together shortly after Gabriel's death. I feel like that I need to be out there and pray that they won't go any further into such a emotionally and/or mentally irrational relationship."

Peach let out a sigh. "Araceli, they're grown adults. Surely they know how to deal with such a thing, and they wish to suport each other-" She started, but Araceli butted in.

"Exactly my reason. One can lose much sense of what is rational and irrational if someone close to them dies or some sort of tragic event like that happens, even adults, Peach." The younger girl stood, facing her. "I feel like I need to watch them, but I don't know why besides the reason I spoke of just previously. It's an odd thing..."

* * *

Ike's eyes fluttered open to see Red. "Hey." The blue-haired warrior murmured quietly.

"Morning." Red spoke quietly in response, smiling a bit. "You look a lot than yesterday."

"Thanks." Red adjusted the pillow to help the older teen sit up. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Red responded. "You?"

"Yeah, for the first time in a while." Ike responded, now grinning, too. "I wonder if I'll be able to get out of this hospital wing soon. It would be nice to see the others."

"I hope so, too."

* * *

Hands intertwined as two voices let out soft murmurs of good morning to each other. Raphael took a deep breath as Uriel tried to untangle himself from the bed sheets. The two helped each other sit up as they continued speaking.

"Did you have a nice rest?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Pretty good." Raphael paused before speaking, "You know Araceli was-"

"Yes." Uriel responded quietly. "As always. You know she has good reason to." He continued as he helped Raphael untangle himself from the bed sheets. "Because of her thoughts of our 'irrational' relations towards each other since Gabriel."

"True." The two were silent, before Raphael spoke up again. "We should get ready for breakfast."

"Right."

* * *

"Maria, please hold on a moment." Mewtwo spoke up as Mother walked into the kitchen. He stared at her carefully. "You look completely exhausted, you need sleep..." He trailed off.

"I know." The silver-haired woman muttered in response as she sat down at the table. "But someone has to look at the monitors carefully in hopes of seeing anymore survivors. The more, the better."

"Hey, Mother?" The two turned to see Myde and Lilith walk into the room. "I was thinking that maybe I could take over for you for the surveillance stuff. You know, so you could get some sleep." Myde spoke up, grinning a bit. "You've done a lot and that's great, but you really need some rest."

Maria just smiled back at him a little. "I am grateful that you are willing to take up that shift. Thank you." She responded quietly. As soon as everyone else walked into the room, she cleared her throat and spoke quietly, but clear enough so everyone could hear her. "No survivors have been spotted yet, and part of why is due to the reason that I somehow shut down last night and now need sleep as soon as possible. In the meantime, Myde will be taking over my usual, day-long surveillance shift while I get some rest. The rest of you will maintain this place. Uriel, Raphael, you two take care of the greenhouse as always. Peach and Kirby, you're on kitchen duty for lunch today, and same for you, Mewtwo. Lilith, you watch over Ike with Red's help, and Araceli, you make sure sanitary needs are met for the next week. Is this clear?"

"Yes." Most of the people responded, or nodded to say yes.

"Good. The rest of you will search out any survivors if seen today, or you can help with the jobs, more specifically helping Araceli maintain sanitary needs or helping Myde with the surveillance shift. I will be getting some sleep after breakfast, and wake me at lunch if I'm not awake by then."

"What does Mother mean by 'maintaining sanitary needs?'" Meta Knight asked Araceli.

"You know, making sure toilet paper is available, checking all the toilets to make sure none of them are clogged or not working properly, making sure the bathrooms and other rooms are clean, that sort of stuff. Maintaining sanitary needs is vital for our survival. If we don't do it properly, we all might drop dead from some disease or something of the sort." The teen answered him as she sat down at the table.

"Okay, got it."

Kirby did his best to curb his usually huge appetite as everyone ate breakfast, but it didn't take much effort, considering he kept getting lost in his thoughts about the other Smashers. The pink puffball hoped that some of the other kid Smashers were still alive. Without them, life would be...Well, it just wouldn't be the same without them at all.


	12. Maintenance

**_12. Maintenance_**

"How many bathrooms are in this place?" Meta Knight asked Araceli as he finished cleaning the tenth toilet in a row. "Three, maybe?"

"Four, actually. Two for the guys and two for the girls. The girls bathrooms are located on the floor where they sleep and on the main floor. The guys bathrooms are located on the floor where they sleep and on the main floor as well." Araceli explained as she continued mopping the floor. "Since you're done, maybe you could organize that cupboard in some way?" She asked, pointing to a shelf.

Meta Knight nodded, before walking over to the cupboard and opening it to reveal feminine products lined up on the shelves. The Smasher stared at it in confusion, before turning to Araceli.

The teen paled a little bit. "Um, Meta Knight...Never mind. You can take over the mopping for me and I'll organize that shelf..." She trailed off, slightly embarassed.

"Alright..." Meta Knight took the mop from her and started to mop the floor. Araceli walked over to the open shelf and started to put things back in proper order. "Do you do this maintenance stuff often?"

"Once a week at the least." Araceli answered him. "Although for duties like the greenhouse and for cooking, those are obviously much more often than cleaning the bathrooms. Uriel is the one mainly in charge of the greenhouse, and Myde and Lilith usually do the cooking unless something else turns up, like Ike's concussion for example." Before she could continue, she suddenly held her head with one hand, leaning against the open shelf.

"Hey, Araceli?" Meta Knight dropped the mop and rushed over to her. "Are you alright?"

"No, Meta, I'm fine..." She trailed off, trying to stand up straight. "I'll be fine..." In her mind, though, she was telling a completely different story, thinking of past memories.

_I'm not fine..._

_Gabriel...I wish you were still alive. I wonder how things would be different if you were..._

* * *

"How are you feeling, Ike?" Lilith asked the blue-haired amnesiac.

"A lot better, actually..." Ike trailed off quietly. "I've been remembering a lot more things lately. I remember Marth, and Roy...And Mewtwo, too. But I'm still trying to remember Meta Knight and Kirby and the others."

Lilith smiled a little, giving Ike a gentle pat on the shoulder. "At least you're progressing. That's good, right?" She paused, before continuing. "I think you might be able to walk around a little today, and I don't mean just for trips to the bathroom and back."

"That's great!" Red exclaimed, and he and Ike both exchanged grins. "Hey, Ike, how about Lilith and I show you around the place?"

Ike just nodded once, before the Pokemon trainer and the blonde helped him stand.

* * *

"Lucario, are you positively sure that you'll be alright in here? You already look like you might start sweating."

Lucario let out a sigh. _"Uriel, I'm sure I'll be fine, thank you." _He responded quietly. _"I've handled worse heat than this in the Smash Tournaments." _

"Alright, if you say so..." Uriel trailed off, before turning to Raphael. "All the plants seem alright, so I think we just need to water them properly, right? We can both do that."

"Right," Raphael agreed, before turning to Lucario. "I think Uriel and I will be fine on our own, so how about you go check on Myde for us and see how he's doing with surveillance?"

_"Will do." _As soon as Lucario left, both men glanced at each other for a moment, before they both tried to speak at the same time.

"I-"

"Um-"

The two fell silent again, unsure of what to say. Finally, after another moment of hesitation, Raphael spoke up this time.

"We need to talk." He started.

"About what, exactly?" Uriel asked as he pushed a lock of black hair behind his ear. "Is it about last night, or...?"

"It's Araceli. Her current health condition..." Raphael responded, nodding once. "She really doesn't seem to be doing the greatest, lately, since the other known survivors have started joining our group. I've seen her getting all riled up and worried about everyone, and at this rate she's going to be in a worse state than Mother, at least health-wise considering that she seems to be lacking more sleep in particular...I think we should probably try to talk to her later, you know, calm her down a bit. Everything is going fine and she doesn't need to worry...Does she?"

"Well, if something went completely wrong, like the garden suddenly or something, then she can panic. But as for right now, she doesn't need to worry herself so much. I believe the same would go for Mother, and that would truly be helpful for the both of them." Uriel responded, crossing his arms. "I can check up on Mother later, and bring her some lunch. You can talk with Araceli in the meantime and figure out what exactly is on her mind."

"Sounds good. I think I'll do that quite soon..."

* * *

Myde let out a sigh as he stared at all the computer screens in front of him. As much as he was glad that Mother was getting some rest,but he couldn't help but wonder how she was able to stare at these blinking screens for hours and hours...Looking at these bright screens was not helping him stay on task, and he realized he had to look away from the screen often to blink an awful lot.

_"Myde?" _Lucario walked into the room. _"How's the surveillance going?"_

"Nothing so far...And completely boring and straining for the eyes. If there was one flaw in the whole survival plan, it has to be the fact that at least one of us has their eyes ruined everyday by constantly staring at these screens. We should have spotted it sooner..." Myde trailed off, turning to face him. "I'm assuming the greenhouse is already taken care of?"

_"Pretty much," _Lucario admitted, before continuing. _"I saw Ike with Lilith and Red, too. Looks like Ike will be up and walking really soon."_

"That's great. Mother would be glad." The other replied, and he paused before asking. "Have you seen Mewtwo?"

_"I think he's still watching over Mother...He's probably making sure that she's alright and stuff."_

"Yeah..." Myde paused, before speaking again. "He really does seem to be concerned for her, huh?"

_"He probably doesn't wish to find anyone too ill. He's looking out for everyone. That's good." _Lucario paused, before speaking up. _"Myde? Do you think...Do you think everyone is really going to mentally recover from this?"_

"I honestly don't know, Lucario. I can't read everyone's minds...If I could, I bet I could give an answer then."

* * *

Mewtwo watched Maria sleep quietly, before he let out a sigh. How long had he been sitting by the bed? At least one or two hours? He hadn't kept track of time, because he was so busy worrying over her.

He shouldn't have to worry. Mother would be in fine physical condition, considering that she was getting a lot of rest right now, and that was good. Maybe he was worried about how she was emotionally. But then again, sleep should help that as well...

He was currently torn, though, about whether he should just leave the room and go help out the others, or still stay by Mother's side.

_She should be fine. _He thought to himself, trying to give himself reassurance. _It's okay to leave her for a bit. You have cooking duty with Peach, anyway. Need to prepare lunch..._

"Right." He muttered aloud in agreement with his thoughts. He stood, still looking at Mother, and then he started to walk out of the room. As soon as he reached the door, however, that was when he looked back at her and spoke again. "I'll be back as soon as I can."


End file.
